Stearns Collection of Musical Instruments facts for kids
Stearns Collection display in the
UMich School of Music, Dance & Theatre's Earl V. Moore Building. |
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| Established | 1898 by Frederick Stearns |
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| Director | Joseph Gascho |
| Staff | Ted Lottman (collection manager, exhibit designer) Carol Stepanchuk (outreach, lecture series director) |
| Location | Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States 42°17′25.1″N 83°43′15.6″W / 42.290306°N 83.721000°W |
| Website | .../stearns_collection |
The Stearns Collection of Musical Instruments is a huge collection of over 2,500 musical instruments. It has instruments from all over the world and from different times in history. This amazing collection is kept at the University of Michigan's School of Music, Theatre & Dance in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
The collection started in 1898. A kind businessman named Frederick Stearns gave his collection of instruments to the University. Today, it is known around the world as an important place for studying music history.
Contents
What Amazing Instruments Are in the Collection?
The Stearns Collection has many special instruments. Some of these include:
- A large group of trumpets once owned by Armando Ghitalla. He was a famous trumpet player for the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
- A collection of violin bows from Jerry Tetewsky.
- The very first Moog synthesizer ever sold! This was made by Robert Moog in 1964. Synthesizers are electronic instruments that can make many different sounds.
- The RCA theremin used in the old radio show The Green Hornet. This instrument makes spooky sounds without being touched.
How Can We Learn About the Instruments?
People have created special books, called catalogs, to list all the instruments.
- The first catalog was published in 1918 by Albert A. Stanley. A second version came out in 1921.
- In 1988, Professor James M. Borders wrote a catalog about the collection's wind and percussion instruments from Europe and America.
Where Can You See the Stearns Collection?
You can see parts of the Stearns Collection in two places at the University of Michigan:
- In the lower lobby of Hill Auditorium on the Central Campus.
- At the Earl V. Moore Building on the North Campus.
What's Unique About the Collection's Displays?
The museum is very honest about some of its items. Some instruments in the collection were bought from a dealer named Leopoldo Franciolini. He was known for selling instruments that were not real or had been changed. The museum's website and signs carefully point out which items might be fake or altered. This is unusual and shows how much they care about being truthful.
Images for kids
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Frederick Stearns, the founder of the collection
